Electronic Filing and Calculating

Alphabetic Indexing Rules

Association of Records Managers & Administrators (ARMA) The professional organization for the records management field recommends following seven rules for consistency in filing.

Learning & Understanding Rules Absorb rules in small segments and then apply the rules. Read material; complete examples, self-checks, exercises, and tests for comprehension. Time goals encourage development of efficient work habits. Alphabetize names by comparing letters in each unit until a difference is found. Compare second units when first units are the same. Compare third unit when first two are the same. This page will help you to get along or understand the rule a little better.

Rule 1 Order of Filing Units This rule defines the procedures to follow to index full personal names and business names.

Personal Names Surname (last name) is key unit Given name (first name) or initial is second unit Middle name or initial is third unit Initials considered separate indexing units. Unit consisting of just initial precedes a unit of complete name. If determining surname is difficult, consider last name as surname. A name written in indexing order is in ALL CAPS with NO punctuation.

Practice Rule 1 Read and study Examples of Rule 1—Personal Names on page 2 Complete Group A Self-Check on page 5.

Business Names Names indexed as written using company letterhead or trademarks as guides. Each word in business name is separate unit. Compound business names w/spaces are considered separate units (Mid American). Business names containing personal names are indexed as written, as are names of newspapers and magazines. For businesses with identical names, use city name as the last indexing unit. If city names are identical, use state names. Business names are a lot like personal names.

Practice Rule 1 Read and study Examples of Rule 1—Business Names, page 2 Complete Group A Self-Check together on page 6.

Minor Words and Symbols Rule 2 Minor Words and Symbols What might minor words be? No, the, not, but, for, to, etc. What are some symbols? $, #, &, %, ¢

Rule 2 Index all words in a name as separate filing units. Symbols considered as separate filing units and spelled out in full ($--dollar). When the word “The” appears as first word of a business name, it is the last indexing unit. On board: Write a name and give an example

Words & Symbols Articles—A, AN, THE Prepositions—AT, IN, ON, BY, TO, FOR, OF Conjunctions—AND, OR Symbols--&, ¢, #, $, % (AND, CENT(S), NUMBER, DOLLAR(S), PERCENT)

Practice Rule 2 Read and study Examples of Rule 2 on page 3 Complete Exercise 2, Group A on page 11.

Coding Coding is an alternative to writing a name in indexing order. Coding is the process of marking the filing segments and numbering the filing units in indexing order. So far you have been using worksheets to index units in columns. When you are indexing and alphabatizing on the job, you will not use worksheets. Instead you will be expected to index in your mind.

Coding Procedure Identify filing segment you wish to use for filing and use diagonals (/) to separate the filing units. Underscore the key unit. The underscore draws attention to the important first unit. Number the remaining filing units above each unit. For examples, see page 4. So the difference in coding is to separate the words with diagonal lines, underscore the key indexing unit, and number the remainder words.

Coding Most offices code by highlighting or underscoring only the key unit on the document. Coding helps to resolve disagreements should they occur in your filing work. We will code names as illustrated while you are mastering the indexing rules.

Practice Coding Read and study Examples of coding on page 4 Take turns coding on whiteboard.